an experiment in off-grid living

early days :: the trench

Woke at 5:45 Am. Traveled North. At Camp we met the builders and then set off on our own agenda.

A snapshot of five hours of work (between two people). A two foot trench through clay, rock and root. Most, if not all of the earth was loosed by a pick axe before a shovel removed it. We buried a heavy aluminum three phase cable capable of carrying enough current to light up a small village under two inches of earth before running the waterproof shielded ethernet cable. Eventually the ethernet will link a control panel in the cabin to the inverter in the garage.

Still… 5 hours of digging between two people and a mere 35 feet of trench.

Bulletin Board

Updated 4.26.2017

New post! The Chest of Drawers are built! Now with Spring upon the U.P. I have a garden to prepare, wood to cut, and various out door actives to pursue with the family - which now Includes Felix, expanding our family to 3 kiddos. I'm working on a post for maple syrup, as well as the basement step project. Future projects include a repair to the entryway steps, bunk beds for the basement, and egress door for the basement.

Links

In 2009 I began to research solar energy as a viable and cost-effective source of power for my family's off-grid cabin. Located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, five miles from the nearest blacktop road and over 3 miles from the power grid, our only option was to generate electricity on site. In Spring of 2010 the last wires were connected and the dream of a cabin using electricity not generated from an internal combustion engine was finally realized. The scope of this blog is to highlight the mistakes and successes that I encountered while designing and assembling the off-grid system.